I traded in my 02 F150 Lariat crew and bought a 11 F150 XLT crew and my wife hates the seats after a month of driving which is a big problem since she drives it most of the time and it is our family vehicle. We loved our 02 and she never had a problem with those seats. She went back to the dealer last week to sit in another XLT to make sure is wasn't our seats.

It's been to an upholstery shop to see if they could help and he added padding but it is still uncomfortable for her. They upholstery guy said we are not the first to complain about the seats and that the lariat has a much better seat.

So I can't believe this but I'm at the point of getting new lariat seats put in or getting rid of the truck. I haven't even made a payment yet!!

So anybody else have problems with their XLT seats?

 

I have a 2010 XLT with the power bench front seat and to me it is more comfortable than the leather buckets in our son's 2011 Lariat, which feel hard by comparison. Does this truck have the convenience package with power seats? If not, that may be one reason why she can't get comfortable in them.

 

I had a 2002, and those were the very best seats I have ever had in a pickup in my life. I have never had another truck with as good of seats as that 2002. My 2010 doesn't even come close. The electric seat helps, but on long trips, I have to adjust after so long to get comfortable again.
I had two chevys in between these fords, and they were pretty good. The bottom part of the seats on them were big and came right up to your knee giving good support.

 

I have a 2010 XLT with powered driver seat. To me the seat is very comfortable and fits to me. I've driven it from SC to TX with no issue, actually the ride was very relaxing (until I traffic jams!). You aren't the first to not like the seats though. It'd be nice if we could get upgrades to the firmness or softness of a seat but not realistic. They built the seat out of comfort for a certain amount of people I guess.
Nevertheless, I hope that you can find some seats. These trucks are amazingly nice and it sucks that a big issue like this is happening! My advice is googling LKQOnline or ebay search for the seats. Get a price, and then compare that price to a price of a custom fit at the upholstery shop.

 

I just bought an 11 XLT and my wife and I both like the seats, truck is very comfortable for us, guess we are in that group they built the seats for .

I have been a Ford person since before I was old enough to drive, I have tried Chevy trucks 3 times over the years but always come back to Ford. The last truck we had was a 08 Silverado 1500, those seats where a joke, they were replace before 20,000 miles the springs in the back of the seat broke and the fabric collected lint like a vacuum, that truck felt like a tin can with all the road noise and rattles.

 

+1! 97-03 were by far the most comfortable. I am 6'3" tall and on my 07,10 and soon to add to my 11. I added 1/2" spacers up front between the floor and seat mount to tilt the seat toward the rear. It actually makes a very noticable difference in comfort but comes nowhere near the 2002 seats. Give it a try before you trade it in, It just may do the trick.

 

I had an 2005 xlt and those seats were the worst, my 2011 fx4 lux pk seats are fanstastic. I think Idieselman hit it on the head with a little tilt the seat becomes more comfertable. My passenger seat in my FX4 is tilted a little back and its a big difference in comfert. But I have the power seats which gives you a lot more seating postions. I would say go back to the dealer and sit in another model like the Lariet with power seats and see if she can position the seat into a position that suits her. Maybe adding power seats is your answer. Good luck.

 

I had an '09 XLT with the regular seats and never had a problem. I upgraded to an '11 FX2 with the leather and love them.

My buddy just bought a Dodge RAM and hated his seats too. He had them taken in and leather installed. Out of pocket he spent $1200 and the leather is very nice and really comfortable. Might want to consider this as an option.

 

I had a 2005 XLT and now have the 2011 XLT. The 2011 fits me much better. Both my wife and I think the seats are very comfortable, so I guess it's just one of those opinion things. The 2011 helps my aching back mush better. I've put 8200 miles on it in 2 1/2 months, so the seats are improtant to me.

 

I had an '03 Lariat. At 6'5", I loved those seats (40-20-40). I was looking to upgrade to an '05 XLT. I drove it and decided I couldn't stand it. Waited a couple years and got my '08 Lariat (40-20-40). The seat is tolerable, but the dealer did tell me that Ford uses different foams for the different trim levels, not just the covering (cloth, premium cloth, leather, etc.). I have had some long days 600-900+ miles, so I need a good seat. I am eyeing a '12 Lariat (40-20-40). Are these seats likely to be the same as the '09-'10?

 

I love my XLT bench seats! I had a lariat / FX4 and these seats are just as comfy. I'm about 6" 195lbs and fit great.

 

I have the bench seat with power. I drove it 250 miles today and the seats are fine for me, not like the 02 but tolerable.

She has tried moving it to every position and nothing is working for her. The upholstery guy added padding to the base and that didn't help.

Waiting to hear from the dealer about adding Lariat seats and then I'll go from there to see what I am going to do.

 

It seems to me that there isn't much different between the shape of the seats between the different trim levels other than non-power and power seat bases. The higher trim trucks have power lumbar and recline, but I don't think those would make much of a different. That being said, I don't think a Lariat is going to be much more comfortable than an XLT that has the power seat base.

I have noticed that my seats are less comfortable after having lost 70 lbs. When I bought my truck, the seats were absolutely the best I have ever had. I still think they are quite good, but feel much more firm now that I am lighter.

 

I hate the ones in my '11, mainly the flip up middle seat/console. It is way too big and bulky. Maybe I am still used to the buckets and console I had in my 2006.

 

That is why I held out till I found one with the captains chairs. Plus, that big bulky console had very little space for stuff. It is mostly shoulder harness setup for the middle seat.